Stonehaven

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Market Square, Stonehaven

Map sources for Stonehaven at grid reference NO8786

Stonehaven (Steenhive in the Doric dialect of Scots) is a town with around fourteen thousand inhabitants (9,577 in 2001 (census)) on the North-East coast of Scotland. It is the county town of the historic county of Kincardineshire or The Mearns. The nearest large city is Aberdeen, 16 miles to the north. It grew around an Iron Age fishing village, which has now developed into the "Auld Toun" ("old town") and expanded inland from the Seaside. As late as the 16th century, old maps indicate the town was called Stonehyve or Stonehive.

1 History
2 Commerce and culture
3 Nearby places of interest
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Stonehaven is the site of prehistoric events as witnessed by finds at Fetteresso Castle and neolithic pottery excavations from the Spurryhillock area^[1]. The town lies at the southern origin of the ancient Causey Mounth road, which was built on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from coastal points south to Aberdeen. This ancient passage specifically connected the Bridge of Dee to Cowie Castle via the Portlethen Moss and the Stonehaven central plaza^[2]. The route was that taken by the Earl of Mariscal and Marquis of Montrose when they led a Covenanter army of 9000 men in the first battle of the Civil War in 1639^[3].

The Covenanters were imprisoned in Dunnottar Castle, where many died. A memorial to them can be found in Dunnottar Church. Other vicinity castles are Fetteresso Castle and Muchalls Castle, both of which are in private ownership and not open to the public. The oldest surviving structure in Stonehaven is the Stonehaven Tolbooth at the harbour, used as an early prison and now a museum.

Dunnottar castle, perched atop a rocky outcrop, was home to the Keith family, and during the Scottish Wars of Independence, the Scottish Crown Jewels were hidden there. In 1296 King Edward I of England (of Braveheart fame) took the castle only for William Wallace to reclaim it in 1297, burning down the church in the process with the entire English garrison still in it. Later, in 1650, Oliver Cromwell sacked the castle to find the Crown Jewels following an eight month siege (having previously destroyed the English Crown Jewels). However, just before the castle fell, the Crown Jewels were smuggled out by some ladies who took them by boat to a small church just down the coast in the village of Kinneff, where they remained undetected for eleven years. Famous historical visitors include William Wallace and Mary Queen of Scots.

Stonehaven was the birthplace of R. W. Thompson, inventor of the pneumatic tyre and the fountain pen, and was a holiday retreat of the poet, Robert Burns. James Murdoch (1856-1921) was also born in Stonehaven. The Fossil of what is said to be the oldest Air breathing invertebrate discovered was found at Stonehaven's Cowie Beach. The novelist Lewis Grassic Gibbon (James Leslie Mitchell) attended school at what was the old Mackie Academy (now Arduthie primary). Lord Reith of Stonehaven was the founder of the BBC.

[edit] Commerce and culture

The town's primary industries are fishing and tourism, with Dunnottar Castle, a local landmark, bringing in a large volume of tourists every yearMore recently, it was used in the 1990 movie Hamlet (directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close). Dunnottar Castle is a prominent landmark and is normally visible on most leaflets (flyers) advertising Scotland.

The town has a long beach facing the cold North Sea, with large cliffs at either end sheltering small rock pools and inlets. It is also famous for its Olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool, which is heated and filled with a mixture of tap water and filtered seawater. Another attraction is the local harbour, which features the Tolbooth, the town's tiny museum of local heritage. A little known story of Stonehaven is that the grandfather of the legendary author Robert Louis Stevenson designed half of the Stonehaven Harbour.

Stonehaven Harbour

During Hogmanay festivities, the High Street comes alive with crowds watching the annual fireballs ceremony, in which volunteers walking down the High Street swing huge balls of fire around and around at the ends of chains. The fireballs are finally thrown into the harbour. Starting from 6pm on new years eve and ending at 2am on new years day is the "open air in the square", a large disco in the town's market square, with DJs, local bands and musicians and rides from the Aberdeen Theme park "Codona's".

Every July Stonehaven holds a Highland Games. All those competing in the heavy events (which includes the Hammer, the Heavy Stone and Tossing the Caber) must wear full Highland dress. Other events include the Stonehaven Folk Festival regularly attended by famous Glaswegian comedian Billy Connolly. On the first Saturday in June the Feein' Market recreates a 19th Century agricultural hiring fair. The RW Thomson Classic Car Rally is an annual celebration of the inventor of the pneumatic tryre and attracts an impressive range of vintage and classic cars. There are two harbour festivals each summer. A farmers market is now held once a month in the market square where local food suppliers and producers can sell fresh fruit, vegetables, poultry and other types of meat.

The town is the likely origin of the Deep-fried Mars bar, a snack now culturally associated with Scotland - and its health record - as a whole.

Stonehaven has three primary schools (Dunnottar, Arduthie and Mill O' Forest) and a large secondary school (Mackie Academy).

Stonehaven has grown rapidly since the oil boom in Aberdeen. The increasing demand for new, middle-class housing has seen four new estates being appended to the town, creating a large expanse of suburbs. This has lead to the expansion of primary schools and extra spaces built for classrooms in the secondary school.

The town supports a Rugby club - Mackie Academy Former Pupils Rugby Football Club - which plays in the BT National League Division 5. The town also has a junior football club who play in the North Region SuperLeague at Glenury Park.

[edit] Nearby places of interest

[edit] References

^ Clarke, C M 1997 "Palaeoenvironmental results" in Alexander, D 'Excavation of pits containing decorated Neolithic pottery and early lithic material of possible Mesolithic date at Spurryhillock, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire', PSAS 127, 17-27
^ C.Michael Hogan, History of Muchalls Castle, Lumina Press, Aberdeen (2005)
^ Archibald Watt, Highways and Biways around Kincardineshire, Stonehaven Heritage Society (1985)